印孚瑟斯CEO 後金融危機時代商界領袖3大必備品質

Corporations across the world and the leaders at its helm are often seeking answers to a much-debated question: What are the ideal qualities of a leader? There is no dearth of answers that one can find on this topic. For a simple reason that there are no easy answers. There isn’t a “one size fits all” response. In my own leadership journey spanning over three decades, my experience has been no different. Every corporation and every leader, I believe, discovers leadership qualities through their own unique journeys. What works for one may not necessarily work for another. What I have come to understand is that while certain fundamental qualities of a leader are time and context invariant, there are others that need to evolve with the changing times.

全球衆多公司及其掌門人常常苦苦求解的一個問題是：領導者應具備哪些品質？這個話題歷來都是衆說紛紜，各執一詞。它之所以不容易解答，原因很簡單，即沒有什麼“一碼通吃”的答案。在我三十多年的領導生涯中，我的體會也是如此。我深信，每個公司和每位領導者都會通過自己獨特的領導歷程發現領導者所應具備的各種品質。適合某個領導者的經驗對另一個領導者可能並不適用。不過我已經明白，儘管領導者的某些基本品質不隨時間和環境而變，但確實有一些品質需要與時俱進。

The primary role of a leader is to inspire hope. Leaders have a responsibility to raise the aspirations of their people and enable them to realize those aspirations. They have to lead by example and have to conduct themselves with fairness, honesty and integrity. Needless to say, they need to possess the required business acumen that comprises a deep understanding of current realities and also a firm view on the emerging future. This business acumen is much-needed to enable them to balance short-term organizational priorities with its long-term vision and to build an organization that will stand the test of time. I could talk at length about these widely acknowledged prerequisite qualities of a leader but I will focus on talking about the qualities that are most relevant today.

領導者的首要職責就是激發希望。領導者有責任喚起人們的希望，同時還要讓他們能夠實現夢想。他們必須以身作則，行事公平、誠信而正直。毋庸置疑，他們必須擁有商業所必需的聰明才智，而這離不開對現實的深入理解和對未來趨勢的堅定認識。他們非常需要這種商業智慧來平衡組織的短期目標和長期規劃，同時打造一個能經受時間考驗的企業。對於這些廣受認可的領導者必備品質，我可以大談特談，但現在我將主要探討一下對今天來說最重要的一些品質。

Trust

信任

The events that led to the recent global economic crisis made it widely acknowledged as the crisis of trust. One of the most important qualities that business leaders today, in the post-crisis era, need to possess is the ability earn and build trust – within their organization and outside. Building trust is not an end-state but a continuous journey. At the organizational level, it necessitates the institutionalizing of robust governance mechanisms that promote transparency and ethical conduct. At the personal level, it requires business leaders to have the courage to tell the truth and the humility to say ‘sorry’ when needed. In essence, business leaders need to earn the right to operate by earning the trust of all their stakeholders.

因爲引發近年來席捲全球的經濟危機的一些事件，這場危機也普遍被看成是一場信任危機。而在後危機時代，如今的企業領導者最需要具備的重要品質之一就是在企業內外贏得並建立信任。建立信任並不是最終狀態，而是一個持續不斷的過程。在企業層面，它促使企業必須建立堅實可靠的治理機制。這有助於增強透明度，使行爲符合道德規範。在個人層面，它要求企業領導者有勇氣說真話，在必要時也能謙卑地說“抱歉”。實際上，企業領導者需要只有贏得所有利益相關者的信任，才能獲得掌管企業的權利。

Courage

勇氣

In a little over the past decade alone, I have been witness to three major crises – the Asian financial crisis, the dotcom bubble burst and the most recent global economic meltdown. It is without doubt that such crises are an inevitable part of business and the frequency of their recurrence is only going to increase. The recurring crises notwithstanding, the socio-economic and political environment in which businesses operate in today is becoming increasingly dynamic and complex. Business leaders therefore need nothing short of nerves of steel to take these multiple challenges head-on and keep marching forward. They need to be in control at all times and instill a sense of hope and courage, particularly in the face of adversity. As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. There hasn’t been a better time to use this cliché.

僅僅在過去十幾年間，我就親眼目睹了三場重大危機——亞洲金融危機，互聯網泡沫破裂，及最近的全球經濟危機。毫無疑問，這類危機本來就是商業不可避免的一部分，並且捲土重來的次數只會不斷增加。然而危機一再發生，而企業運營的社會經濟及政治環境也正在變得越來越動盪複雜，因此企業領導者需要鋼鐵般的意志，才能應付眼前的多種挑戰並奮力前進。他們需要始終掌控大局，同時激發人們的希望和勇氣，在面對逆境時更要如此。正如俗語所說，時勢艱難時，鐵腕當道日。這句話用在眼下尤其適用。

Big picture view

大局觀

There are various schools of thought when it comes to what business leaders should dedicate a substantial amount of their time to. There is one school of thought that believes business leaders need to focus largely on anticipating and preparing for the future. Another school of thought emphasizes on the common adage – “the devil is in the details.” In other words, business leaders need to be hands-on when it comes to understanding and shaping the realities on the ground. My own experience has taught me that business leaders need to embrace both – a focus on the larger picture and an attention to details. An idea without an effective implementation plan is of little value. Business leaders therefore need to be able to understand and contribute to all aspects of business – be it strategy, operations, finance or marketing. In essence, business leaders today need to be comprehensive in their approach and in the competencies they acquire. As demanding as it may sound, they are increasingly expected to be a jack of all trades and master too.

就企業領導者應將主要精力致力於何事這一問題歷來有幾種觀點。一種觀點認爲，他們的主要職責是展望未來，同時爲未來做好準備。另一種觀點則強調了那句老話——“細節決定成敗”。換言之，在理解並腳踏實地地塑造現實上，領導者必須親力親爲。從我自己的經歷看，企業領導者必須兩者兼顧——既能仰觀大局，又能俯察細節。光有理念，但卻缺乏有效的執行方案可謂一錢不值。因此，對於企業運營的方方面面，企業領導者都必須深刻理解並能貢獻才智——無論是戰略、運營、財務還是營銷，莫不如此。說到底，如今的企業領導者無論是行事方法還是本領能力，都要綜合全面。儘管這個要求看似苛刻，但人們確實越來越希望他們能事事精通。

To conclude, I will reiterate my belief that leadership is a journey of lifelong learning. There are no mantras to success that are cast in stone. There are a few leadership qualities that stand the test of time but others which need to evolve and be embraced with the changing times. Business leaders need to embark on this journey of discovery called leadership with openness, courage and humility. The destination is certainly going to be worthwhile.

總之，我要重申自己的信念，即領導力需要終生不懈的學習。要想成爲成功的領導者，並沒有什麼金科玉律。有少數領導者品質能夠經受時間考驗而歷久不衰，但其他品質卻要與時俱進。企業領導者要抱着開放的心態，滿懷勇氣並保持謙遜地踏上這條叫做領導力的發現之旅。這個旅程的終點一定會讓你感到所有努力都是值得的。